DHARMADASS Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Nizam of Hyderabad during his regime employed a number of guardsmen from Egypt and Sudan. Most of the recruited men were from Bidwi tribe. They were employed to guard Treasury Offices in the former State of Hyderabad. They were known and were called "Chawoosh". The Chawoosh by habits were rustic and aggressive in temperament. Their very presence created terror in local people. Often contacts with them were avoided. Even to-day in the city of Hyderabad, the words "Chawoosh" is used in the sense of ignoramus. After the police action in Hyderabad, Chawoosh community were repatriated to parent countries in three ship loads from Bombay. Some who were married here and raised families were left out. The second or third generation of Chawoosh live to-day in the city of Hyderabad. They are not called "Chawoosh". They are now entwined into warp and woof of the city. They are in fruitousiness and generally are employed in motorgarages, and in police service. The Chawoosh were in the past Jambia (dagger) as part of their dress more as an insignia to show they belong to Bidwi tribe. Jambia used to indicate identity and perhaps also as a weapon to protect the person.

(2.) Md. Bin Mohsin Chawoosh (Chawoosh) was a resident in a lane near Nampally railway station. He was a police-constable. He was known in Nampally locality as a kind person. People rushed to him for all sorts of errands. He was stabbed to death on January 31, 1982 by a Jambia found on his person. The assailant was a stranger. He was a foreigner. The stranger came in contact with him not even for 15 hours before the attack. In that brief period the stranger, as facts would show, received food, shelter and kindness from Chawoosh. In that sense the facts show more than a tragic case.

(3.) The above appeal is the case of the assailant who murdered Chawoosh. He was from Srilanka. He had no acquintance with Chawoosh before January 30, 1981. The prosecution case, in the criminal appeal, as to the murder of Chawoosh, is not disputed. The plea of the stranger is, he was unsound mind. Whether the assailant is an insane person is at issue. Therefore, the usual method of narrating the prosecution case is not adopted in this order.